All-Star Voting
The NBA released the first fan returns for the 2024 All-Star Game on Thursday, and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic leads all players with 1,249,518 votes. Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo heads the Eastern Conference balloting.
Rounding out the West’s top five are Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets), Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder) and rookie Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs). In the East, Antetokounmpo is followed by Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers), Jalen Brunson (New York Knicks), Cade Cunningham (Detroit Pistons) and Donovan Mitchell (Cleveland Cavaliers).
Fan ballots count for 50 percent of the vote that determines starters, with current NBA players and a media panel each supplying 25 percent. Positions are not being considered in this year’s selections. The All-Star festivities will feature a new USA vs. World round-robin format on Feb. 15 at the Intuit Dome, home of the Los Angeles Clippers.
Thunder
Oklahoma City snapped a stretch of three losses in four outings by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers 129-104 on Sunday. The Thunder limited Philadelphia to 42 percent shooting, forced 23 turnovers and converted those mistakes into 31 points.
“We really cranked up the pressure and the help and did so with discipline,” head coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought we really tuned up there and made everything hard on them.”
Rookie center Chet Holmgren fueled the effort with 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, eclipsing the 31 total points he had scored over his previous three games. “At the core, the guy is just a winning, tough player,” Daigneault added. “When he’s in that mode, it changes our team.”
Celtics
Sunday also marked Anfernee Simons’ first game in Portland since the Trail Blazers traded him to the Boston Celtics in a summer salary-saving deal. Suiting up as a visitor at Moda Center after seven seasons with the Blazers, the guard acknowledged the unusual atmosphere.
“It kind of felt a little weird,” Simons said. “Being a visitor, coming out of the other tunnel. But it was fun to see everybody and embrace the moment.”
Now the Celtics’ sixth man, Simons is averaging 12.8 points across 23.5 minutes per game, a shift from his former full-time starting role in Portland. “It’s a business at the end of the day,” he said. “You just have to enjoy each moment while you have it.”
Source: Hoops Wire
